Using toilet paper is allowed in Islam but water should be the primary source of cleansing, according to a Fatwa released by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (the Diyanet), [the Turkish newspaper] Hurriyet reported on Thursday.

The idea that using toilet paper is prohibited stems from the idea that paper can be used for writing.

“If water cannot be found for cleansing, other cleaning materials can be used. Even though some sources deem paper to be unsuitable as a cleaning material, as it is an apparatus for writing, there is no problem in using toilet paper,” the fatwa declared.

In a separate statement, the religious authority said last month that “it was okay for substances produced for cleaning and containing alcohol to be used for cleaning purposes, while stressing that drinking alcohol was forbidden by the Islamic religion,” Hurriyet reported.

Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs. (Twitter)

As far as the question of what exactly is the proper Islamic etiquette for making your bladder gladder and/or dealing with a bad case of the dirty squirties, MyReligionIsIslam.com gives the lowdown of the down and dirty.

Just a few of the do’s and don’ts of going dooty; (emphasis mine)

One should enter the toilet with one’s left foot and exit with one’s right foot.

One should recite the prayer “Alhamdu-lil-laa-hil-la-dhi adh-haba ‘a-nil a-dhaa wa ‘a-faa-ni” when exiting the toilet.

After cleaning one’s private parts, one should cover them immediately.

One should remove the feces on one’s anus with one’s finger and wash one’s hand. If there are still traces of filth, one should wash them with water.

When cleaning the private parts after answering the call of nature, men should wash them from the back to the front. Women should wash them from the front to the back. Thus, the genitals will not be smeared with filth, nor will it cause one to be sexually aroused by the stimulation of fingers.

One should dry one’s private parts with a cloth after washing them. If there is not a cloth available, it is permissible to use toilet paper because toilet paper is produced to be used after answering the call of nature. But using other kinds of paper for this purpose is not permissible.

One should sprinkle some water over one’s underpants after cleaning one’s private parts. By doing so, when one notices wetness on one’s underpants, one will not feel doubt as to whether it is urine or not.

After cleaning their private parts, men should do istibra. Women do not do it. Istibra means not to leave any drops of urine in the urethra. It is done by walking or coughing or lying on the left side.

If a man exits the toilet without doing istibra, drops of urine may come out and soil his underwear. Therefore, he should insert a cotton wick as big as a barley seed into his urinary hole, whereby he will prevent urine from oozing out.

One should not look at one’s private parts or spit into the toilet.

One should not urinate while standing unless there is strong necessity for doing so and should not let drops of urine splash onto one’s clothes. To that end, one should keep separate pajamas or tracksuit. It is mustahab to enter the toilet with separate pajamas and with the head covered.

One should wash one’s hands after using the toilet.

One must not urinate into any water, on a wall of a mosque, in a cemetery, or on a road.

Cleaning the private parts with stones and similar materials is an acceptable substitute for cleaning them with water.